


Kingdom Hearts: Sands of Fate

by FeliciaBelle



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fuck the Lore of this game, Gay Male Character, M/M, Multi, Original Worlds, Other Games will appear as we go along, Retelling, Violence, this is gonna hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-01-15 01:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21245441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeliciaBelle/pseuds/FeliciaBelle
Summary: A heart split in two and two heroes on the same journey find each other. One is the story you already know, Follow the story of the second heart.





	1. World 1: Hidden Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> So guess who got back into Kingdom Hearts? Now guess who's going to torture you all with heartache.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, it was days like today that made this kingdom enjoyable to live in. Well that and the fact they had quite the technology, but that was just the added detail. The marketplace and the town square were where everyone would gather to hang out or to hear the latest stories from the Dimension Elves; elves that told stories from worlds outside their own. Stories that made Tori wish he could just go to one of these other worlds and explore them, but as an apprentice to a court magician, his place was here. He wasn’t going to complain, being an apprentice to such a high-ranking magician was a huge honor to have, still he did have those desires hidden away in a journal.

Today was like any other day; Tori was in the sparring ring with a sword in hand and facing off his opponent – one of the high priests of the Pharaoh’s court, he looked to the stands for a bit and saw his master smiling down at him with confidence, he gave his master a small wave before turning his attention back to the priest. The sound of a whistle was heard and the two charged at each other. Tori held his sword up and dodged the first blow before countering with a straight jab of his own. Swords clashed and both would counterattack, it was a Dance of Swords to the spectators watching, but in the ring, it was life or death. Weapon training was essential in this kingdom should any and all malicious intruders try to invade their kingdom. Swords, archery, magic, you name it and they train you in it. The morning’s sword match seemed to have gone well in the young apprentice’s favor, he nearly forced the high priest out of the arena and he would have if it wasn’t for a sharp sting in his heart. No, it wasn’t a painful sting. Tori couldn’t describe it, but he felt something tugging in his heart; a sort of longing feeling, longing for what? He knew he wanted to explore outside his world, but his desires weren’t that great, was someone calling for him? He would have to ask his master about this after…preferable after getting up and away from the sword that was now pointing at his neck. Right, he was in a sparring match and his opponent had caught him off guard. He wasn’t going to hear the end of this.

Tori hung his head low as he was led to his master’s study, the silence between them lingered for a while. His master was walking around and picking up a few books to skim through the pages; Tori had to admit, he hated this part of the scolding. Master Mahad always left things in maddening silence until his apprentice finally cracked and told him everything that was on his mind. He kept telling himself he wasn’t going to let his master get into his head like this again, but sadly, he always fell victim to it.

“I let myself get distracted.” Tori finally said.

“That much is clear.” Master Mahad agreed. “What caused your distraction?”

Tori looked away from him. “It’s my heart, Master.” He answered. “My heart just suddenly ached.”

That was a serious reason, the heart was where wisdom was kept and not only that but also where a person’s entire being was. To lose your heart was to lose yourself, it was why they kept the heart inside the individual after death. Mahad set his book down and placed a hand on Tori’s heart, he closed his eyes and murmured a spell, a soft green glow emitted from where he had touched him; if there was any form of health problems the glow would turn a dark crimson and there was nothing. His apprentice was healthy as could be. He pulled back and thought for a bit before casting a different read on him; the boy may be physically in good health but his spirit…

“Ah, there it is.” He nodded. “Seems your spirit is troubled, my boy.”

Tori looked himself over, sure enough, instead of the usual silver glow it was more dark teal in a somber embrace. He looked up at his master confused, silently wanting an explanation of why he felt like that, Mahad just ruffled his hair and smiled softly at him.

“I assume you want the honest answer.” Mahad moved to his desk. “But before that, I want your honest answers to the following questions; First, what do you desire?”

Tori lowered his head a little, the honest answer was going to get his ass kicked. He could see it right now, still, he’d rather not lie and risk meeting Amit so soon. “I desire adventure, to see the worlds that the Dimension Elves talk about, to start my own journey and come back with amazing stories to tell.”

“Safe to say you wrote about these desires somewhere? I was wondering why you needed to buy a roll of tape each time you went into town.” Mahad shook his head. “Question number two; what are you afraid of?”

“Pardon? What am I afraid of? Master, you know I fear bats more than anything”

“You misunderstand the question, my boy, I’m not talking about common fears. What does your heart fear?”

Was there a point to these questions? Tori bit his lips in thought, bats terrified him because when he was a boy a baby bat got into his hair. But it wasn’t entirely the worst thing to have happened to him; there’s actually been a lot of things that happened to him that made a baby bat look like a shadow. He closed his eyes and took a breath of air, what his heart feared the most, “I’m afraid to disappoint you and the Pharaoh.”

A soft chuckle. “Someone of raw magic is afraid to disappoint us? I wasn’t quite expecting that. You’ve always come off as eager to learn and always the first of many to want to try out a new spell or the first to want to enter the ring and face someone from the court.” He nodded. “Third question, and this one is important; What is most important to you?”

Tori smiled with pride, that was an easy one! “My family.” He immediately said. “Not just my biological family, I mean my friends from town as well as you, Master. You and everyone here in our kingdom means so much to me!”

“Are we really that important to you?” Mahad asked. “You could always make a new connection with new people and the answer could be the same.”

He shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t be the same. I could never replace the teachings you gave me, the warmth of affection both from my parents and friends. I would rather invite more into my close circle than replace anyone.”

“It is admirable of you to think such things of your peers, and if I may, should you meet anyone new; I would very much like to meet them. Now then, your final question.” Mahad waved his hand to reveal three items; a Sword, a Shield, and a Staff. “Suppose you do leave from this kingdom; what weapon do you take, and what do you give up? Feel free to pick the one that calls to you, there is no right or wrong answers.”

Tori looked at his choices before picking up the sword, he always found himself taking the blade when he would face the High Priests or the guards in battle. It always felt right to him to have a blade in his hand, and if he didn’t have a blade he would always turn to magic as a second resort, he never once used any form of defense except for dodging. Without giving a second thought, he picked the sword up and gently pushed the shield back to his master.

“Master, pardon my asking but what is the point of all of this?” Tori asked. “We both know I can never leave the court; my role is here to train as a royal magician, my destiny is here.”

“Is it?” Mahad tilted his head to the side. “And where did you hear that?”

“Well…I mean, everyone knows that when someone is taken in by the palace that they’re bound by their duties there?”

“Ah, so you heard from unreliable gossiping vendors, that explains everything.” Mahad shook his head. “The point of all these questions is to see if I can send you out of the kingdom. The pain in your heart, the longing feeling of finding something or someone, it only happens to those connected by a thin light.”

“Like a soulmate?” Tori asked. “I thought that red string of fate thing was just a story your grade school teacher told you on Valentine’s Day”

“Soulmate could mean romantic relations, yes, but it can also mean platonic – the bond you share with those you call your family and friends, or in this case; you’re finding someone who is lost, be it a friend or just an ally you share a long and hard journey with. This person is connected to you and you are connected to them even though you hadn’t met, the light in your heart is your guiding point, and that pain won’t cease until you meet.”

Tori placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes, he tried to focus on where the light would guide him to, his only response is the waves of an ocean and the sweet salty sea air. The gentle breeze brushing his face, a warm sunset, he could feel the warmth from the person his heart was yearning to. Opening his eyes, he looked at his Master, still with the slight amused look on his face before speaking to him again. “Master, there’s countless worlds with a beach, where would I even begin to search?”

“Oh? You have a lead already?” Mahad nodded. “No surprise considering your ability, but I’m afraid I can’t answer that, you’re going to have to figure that one out on your own.” He chuckled at the boy’s frown. “Now don’t be like that, what kind of a teacher would I be if I don’t help you a little bit. Tomorrow, I will take you to a special tomb, there is where your journey will begin. For now, I want you to enjoy the rest of your day; say your goodbyes and pack what you need.”

Tori smiled and bowed to his master one final time. “Thank you master, and I promise, I will return home someday!”

“I know you will, you’ve always been a man of your word, Tori.”

*****

It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to the people he knew; all the friends he grew up with, his parents who raised him, even the vendors at the market that would give him a discount on what he needed in exchange for chores to be done! He knew he would return home one day, but it didn’t help with the feeling of homesickness (he hadn’t even left yet, and he was already missing everyone). Still, there was a light at the end of the tunnel; he was given a farewell party that night. It was like a dream; lanterns were strung around, the music was on full blast, he didn’t want tonight to end! But it had, and now he was on a boat sailing into dawn. His master had told him to rest and that they would be at their destination soon; easier said than done, he was so restless that he couldn’t entirely fall asleep right now, as memories of the night played in his head; the farewells from his friends (“We’re going to miss you” “Promise you’ll tell us everything that’s happened” “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to blow up your study” “We love you”), the party that was a big send-off for him, he was just on an eternal cloud nine that when he did manage to sleep, they had docked and were now in the valley of the kings. A sacred place where not only the dead would rest but also where magicians had hidden temples for training their students; Tori had been here a few times with Master Mahad for training, those were more of the intense moments of his training. And if he wasn’t here for training, he would be with others to wish a blessing for the departed. It didn’t matter what they were like; they would be sorted out in the afterlife against the scales of judgement, the departed were still respected by the living. To this day, whenever Tori would come here with his master, he would make a point to make a quick stop by one of the burial sites and kneel in respect to the departed, one prayer later and he was back by his Master’s side. Mahad would lay a hand on his shoulder and continue to lead him through the valley where they came across the base of a cliff. Tori looked up in silent confusion, it was just a solid wall? One smile from Mahad was all he needed to know that there was more than meets the eye, he gently nudged Tori forward and through the wall – a simple illusion spell. Simple yet effective.

Sealing the entryway behind them, Mahad turned and waved his hand to light up the room; it was nothing but a hallway filled to the brim with doors, they each had a gold plaque that had their names etched on them as well as a screen to show the viewer what the world looked like and what was going on in them. Tori walked around in awe, there were so many worlds that could be accessed just from this tomb alone! From a strange world with singing flowers, to an underwater kingdom with mermaids, to even a pirate ship! Tori felt himself acting like a child at Christmas time, his eagerness got him rushing and trying to open one of the doors. Locked. Of course, it was locked, why did he think he could open one?

“Eager to jump ahead as always, Tori.” Mahad chuckled. “I’m no longer surprised.”

Tori lowered his head a little bit. “Sorry, master.”

Mahad gently waved his hand to dismiss the apology. “As you see before you, this temple is the Temple of the World, it’s how the Dimension Elves would come and go with stories. This is generally their home after all.”

“I thought because they were travelers, they didn’t have a forever home?” Tori asked.

“They don’t, but they use this temple as a home base to rest and replenish any and all magic they might have used.” Mahad waved to the camp before them. “Lady Shari and her people are going to be seeing you quite a bit as you begin your journey.” He watched as the elf in question approached them. “Of course, since she knows more about how the portals work, she will be assisting us.”

“You’re coming too?” Tori’s eyes lit up.

“Afraid not, my job for you is to try guiding you to your other half of the light.” Mahad said in a regretful tone.

“Don’t fret though.” Shari smiled. “Now then, I see you have your bag, show us what you have for this journey?”

Tori nodded and held his bag out, a simple backpack filled with what he felt was needed for the long journey ahead of him. He had settled on the following; a sewing kit, spare clothing, toiletries (soap, toothbrush/paste, washcloth), a few snack bars, a folded-up poncho, some medicine, two water bottles. And a clean journal. There was still some room for if he needed to pick something up for later, depending on where in the vast universe he was going to, but for now, what he had would suffice. Shari and Mahad shook their head, the boy was packed like he was going on a backpacking tour, still they had to commend him for packing the practical of items.

Shari shook her head and went back to her tent before coming back with a sword. “Depending on where you go, it’s always best to have some form of defense.” She held it out to him.

Tori took it and his bag. “Right…some worlds may be more hostile than others.” He agreed. “So, where do I begin?”

“Before you begin, you must know the rules of visiting other worlds; the first is never meddle with other worlds, you must never reveal that you’re from another world. For the longest time these worlds had been distant and unaware of each other’s existence, we don’t want to risk anything by disrupting that.” Shari started off. “The second is only use your sword and magic for others, never selfishly save yourself.”

“Quick question, what if I don’t have allies by my side?” He asked.

“I highly doubt you’ll be by yourself the whole time, but if by some chance you’re alone, then by all means save yourself. I don’t think Mahad would be too happy if his apprentice died in another world.” Shari chuckled. “Now then, this is the most important rule; try to return here by sunset. The portals are created to open when the sun starts rising and close when the sun sets, if you don’t make it back by the time the sun starts to set, you will be stuck in the current world until the next morning.” She watched as Tori frantically grabbed his phone and started to set alarms. “Always one step ahead, isn’t he?”

Mahad nodded. “You should have seen him when he first came to the palace, he camped outside of the classroom because he didn’t want to be late for his first day of class.”

Shari chuckled at the blushing apprentice in question. “I think he’ll be in good hands.” She smiled. “Now then, to start your journey, we should narrow the field of where your light is; no sense in jumping through portals blindly. Call out to them, Young Apprentice.”

And like before, Tori placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes, he tried to focus on where the light would guide him to; he was greeted to a quiet little town, evening was eternal and the town was always lit up by streetlights and candle lights, flags and banners were in some parts of the town, beautiful fountains, it almost reminded him of his home here!

“Well, I know he’s definitely not here.” Tori jokes. “But he is in a town filled with nightlife, somewhere like Vegas or New York.” He listed.

“For some reason, I keep forgetting you’re from the west of us.” Shari shook her head. “I do know the town you’re talking about though, keep in mind this is the only time we’re guiding you to the right door, after this you’re going to have to figure the rest out on your own.”

“I understand, Lady Shari.” Tori bowed and followed the two down the hall and up to a door, the plaque read ‘Traverse Town’ and one look inside the window confirmed that this was indeed the very town he saw in his heart. He watched as Shari unlocked the door and held it open for him. “Thank you again, I’ll update you if anything changes.”

“Be careful out there, Tori.” Mahad warned.

“I will.” He promised.

“Before you go, here.” Shari handed him the key. “Skeleton key, it will open every portal in this temple and you will need it to get back home as well.”

Tori nodded and pocketed it. “Thanks, I’ll be on my way then.” He bowed in respect and left through the portal.

*****  
  
They couldn’t help but laugh, whoever heard of a magician that uses swords instead of magic? Actually, no scratch that, whoever heard of a magician that had their magic bound in cuffs! A wizard in chains, it was hysterical! Still, even without the use of magic, the boy was strong; he was a fierce fighter in the arena earlier (he almost felt bad for the High Priest he was up against. Almost.) yet he faltered because of his heart.

“Such a peculiar boy, not one worthy of the blade, yet strong enough if need to be. No wonder _he_ asked for someone’s eye on him, I guess I should report this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diary Entry 1: Tori Dalimar - A boy from the desert, grew up as an apprentice to a royal magician and grew up in the palace. His heart ached one day and recently found out that there was another person who shared the red string of fate.  
Diary Entry 2: Master Mahad - A royal magician and Tori's master. Served the Pharaoh for an undetermined amount of time and has vast knowledge of the craft.  
Diary Entry 3: Lady Shari - A dimension elf, she and her people travel from world to world observing the events that happen and retell the story to others. She is the reason for Tori's need for travel.  
Diary Entry 4: Hidden Kingdom - A mixture of ancient magic and modern technology, one of the few worlds where the barriers are down, it is seen as a world of multiple cultures interwoven together, many people come here to train.


	2. Traverse Town

The town was more beautiful than he imagined! It was beautiful, far more beautiful than Vegas ever was. The gentle breeze brushed against him as he walked the empty street before him; granted the part he was in was a shopping district, but the buildings were adorned with many bright lights and decorations such as streamers. But the most prominent feature within the district was the large tower, similar to a light house, was adorned with various streamers as well. If he had the time, perhaps he should try a gliding spell and swing through the streamers before him. Tori decided to walk around the stores and did a little window shopping to see what wares were available, mostly weapons and armor as well as health items, he made a mental note to make sure to buy them when his own health stock went down.

As he started off again, he came across another plaza; this time with a beautiful fountain. That was basically all there was in this plaza, this place was most likely for people to meet up and just hang to relax. He already took a few pictures of the buildings earlier and decided to sit against one before taking out his blank journal and begin sketching out the fountain - he would still take a picture, but this was just for practice, after all, there might be worlds out there where using a camera wasn’t an option. A few lines in and he felt…cold, there was something nearby, something hostile. Setting both pencil and journal into his bag he drew his sword and looked around the plaza.

“Is someone out there?” he called.

Silence.

No, there was definitely something out here. Tori took a breath of air and began to take cautious steps around the area, just as he did the shadows started to move and took form. Small shadowy creatures with big yellow eyes surrounded him, he didn’t hesitate in cutting those creatures down to size (okay, he may have had blessed his blade with a simple light spell to ensure those creatures won’t be coming back). After slashing at the final creature, Tori sheathed his sword and looked around the plaza once more; for a beautiful town that had the nightlife set up, there was hardly anyone out and about and he knew why now, those creatures are to blame. Was it like this everywhere else? Most likely. His own heart started to ache again and he felt a sudden wave of fear, his other heart was just as scared and confused as he was. This world was crawling with these weird creatures and it was the two of them facing off against them – no, they weren’t alone, there had to be some other fighters here in this town! There had to be a way to meet up and team up and the only way to do that was to keep pushing forward. And that’s what he did, Tori tightened his hold on his bag as he advanced his way into another district; one surrounded by nothing but apartment buildings. He looked up at them and watched as some people were closing their curtains as he passed by, he had a few guesses as to why this was; One) he was an outsider and they were wary of him. Two) they were more terrified of the creatures that lurked around. Three) it was a combination of both. Whatever the case, he just left the people alone and made his way into the next part of town; a beautiful botanical garden filled with plants of varying varieties and resting peacefully inside a three-floor greenhouse that was surrounded by a small waterway. There were a few plants in there that Tori was able to identify off the bat, some he used for his charms and some he knew were for medicine. Looking around to make sure no-one was watching him, he quickly took a few of those plants and placed them in his bag, never could tell when one needed to make a quick herbal remedy or to make a charm for later.

That was that he supposed, his other heart wasn’t in this part of town. Perhaps it was time for him to try and ask a local for help, maybe there was a way to get to the part where his soulmate was. It was worth the shot at least. Returning to the apartments, he tried calling for assistance, asked if anyone knew how to get to the other side of town. He was met with the sound of doors locking and the slam of a few shutters as well as the laughter of someone behind him, he jumped and turned to see two guys grinning at him. The first was a blond boy who had his hair tied into a short ponytail, he wore a white sleeveless shirt under a short teal vest topped with leather accents at the shoulders and back, while the front has a lacy white jabot topped with a green ribbon tied in a bow. He had blue jodhpur pants, a tan belt, light green gloves with large blue cuffs, and a pair of light green and white cuffed ankle boots with a low heel. He even sported a brown sheath on his left hip. Then there was the blonde’s buddy; black leather trousers with a small side chain and an open black shirt with nothing but a pendant underneath. A scar over his left eye, and a tattoo down his arms, long brown hair that was tied in a small ponytail as well and a jaw beard.

The blond was the first to have spoken up. “Oh man, you are a riot.” He walked over. “Hate to tell ya, but we’re closed off from the rest of the town.”

“What do you mean you’re closed off?” Tori had his hand over his sword.

“Exactly what I mean, you’ve seen the creatures right?” he began circling Tori. “The fear in the people’s eyes…to keep the rest of the town safe we had to close this district off.” He stopped in front of him. “Though, you know what’s weird? We finally had them at bay, we were ready to open our district again. Tell Leon that everything was fine here and safe.” His smile fell and his eyes narrowed. “But then you showed up, and they started spawning again.”

“Look, I’m just trying to find someone and I’ll be out of your town.” Tori tried moving away from him, that earned a dagger pointing at his face. “What the hell?”

“Afraid it doesn’t work like that.” He nodded his friend over. “This is what’s going to happen; you’re going to come with us quietly, and if it turns out the heartless aren’t with you, we’ll let you go.”

“Following two shady guys in a dark alleyway, that’s not remotely suspicious at all.” Tori moved from them and took his sword out. “I have a better idea, how about; you two back off and we go our separate ways quietly.”

The brunette spoke up. “Are you asking for a fight?”

“Maybe I am.” Tori narrowed his eyes.

“Alright, have it your way.” The man took a step forward. “But one way or another, you’re coming with us.”

The blonde made a slash at Tori, causing him to jump back, the quick movements from him made it hard for Tori to even get a hit. The forward slashes and strikes towards his hands or knees, all Tori could really do was back up and use his sword to block the slashes. The blond backed off and sheathed his dagger, it was a confusing motion but Tori wasn’t going to argue, he had an opening for a strike of his own. He raised his sword and went to strike, he was halted when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, Tori went down and laid unconscious before the two, his sword was a little bit away and his backpack laying unceremoniously on his body. 

The blonde looked him over before turning to his buddy, “What do you think, Gladio?”

The brunette, Gladio, shrugged, “I think he’s just a kid who got himself mixed up in the same mess as everyone else.” He knelt beside the boy. “We might have overdone it a little bit, Zidane.”

“In our defense, we weren’t certain if he was with the heartless or not.” Zidane shrugged. “Still, it’s weird. He doesn’t look all that special yet the heartless were drawn to him.”

“Could be because he might feel hopeless.” Gladio pointed out. “The heartless preys on the weakest of hearts.”

“I guess, but he’s only a kid, his heart should be filled with light! It’d be one thing if he were like us and feeling hopeless, but he’s a kid, Gladio!”

A shimmer of light caught both of their attentions. Both Gladio and Zidane looked over at the source and saw a silhouette of a key by the boy’s hand, it faded in and out for a while before the light finally died down. They both looked at each other, they weren’t seeing things; they saw the key that they’ve been after for! This called for a change of plans, this kid needed some serious training if he was their salvation. Wordlessly, Gladio picked up the boy and carried him inside one of the apartments, Zidane followed suit with the boy’s sword and bag, he looked up at Gladio before nodding down the hall and leaving the scene.

*****

“What the hell did you do to the kid, Zidane?” a voice yelled.

“Hey he challenged us first!” Zidane shot back. “He challenged us, and we accepted.”

“Oh really? Gladio, what really went on, because right now I don’t trust his word.” The voice demanded.

“He’s partially right.” Gladio replied. “We were going to escort him to You and Noctis but he instead chose to not go without a fight, the original plan was just to tire him out.”

“So why is he unconscious!?”

“Gladiolus knocked him unconscious!” Zidane yelled. “He just went behind the kid and struck him on the back of the head!”

“And _why_ did you do that, Gladio?” The voice asked, clearly exasperated at the two.

Tori groaned and opened his eyes. What on earth happened, the last thing he remembered was being cornered in an alleyway and fighting two guys and then he was out like a light…oh, right, the big guy was the one who knocked him out. No wonder his head was hurting like hell. Sitting up, he held his head and looked around the room he was in; a small bedroom with a twin-sized bed that he was sitting on, a side table with a lamp, a table by the window complete with a lamp, a few books, and his backpack (and contents of his bag casually laying out on display, he would now have to repack). He was in someone’s apartment, and that person seemed to be a noisy one.

“Oh, thank god you’re awake, are you alright?”

Looking over in front of him, Tori saw a familiar face, Master Mahad! He probably thought something went wrong and came to the town to check on him. He felt relieved and smiled up at him, nodding to confirm he was well, his master smiled at that and walked to the table before sitting down.

“Good, I’m sorry about the welcoming committee, but with the heartless running around one can easily jump to some drastic conclusions.” He explained. “The creatures from earlier, I mean.”

Tori nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Master, why didn’t you tell me about those creatures earlier?”

“Master?” Mahad looked confused. “Uh kid, do we need to have a talk? Are you okay?”

After blinking a few times, the man at the table was actually…someone else. A dark lavender haired boy with glasses over his sapphire eyes, a dark hoodie and black pants. The boy was definitely older than him and was deeply concerned, probably about the headwound he had sustained earlier, why else would he be like this? The boy saw his confused expression and sighed, he got up and walked over to him with a chair, he sat in front of him and crossed his arms; putting on an air of authority that left no room for questioning.

“Alright, just put my mind at ease here kid, when you mistook me for your ‘master’ do you mean master in the sense of teacher or is it something else entirely and I need to beat someone’s ass?”

Oh. That’s why he looked confused and concerned.

Tori shook his head. “It’s the first one, I was training under Master Mahad as a magician’s apprentice.” He cleared up. “Now put my mind at ease, what the hell is going on in this town? Who were those guys that attacked me?”

“Settle down, kid. To start off; my name is Jasper, my team and I live here in the fourth district to ward off the heartless problem, once everything here had cleared up, we were going to send a flare signal to let Squall know that this district is safe to open.” Jasper explained. “Now, the heartless are creatures that manifest from the darkness in people’s hearts and they are born when a heart is consumed by the darkness within it or when a heartless steal the heart. There’s more, but I’ll tell you more in a bit; right now, what you need to know is; they are born from darkness and they are mindless and act on instinct, they only want to collect hearts.”

Tori let out an audible gulp. “So, how does one get rid of them?” he choked out.

“Well there’s the traditional sword method, temporarily but efficient.” Jasper listed. “Or, if someone has a keyblade. Now, the fun thing about the keyblade is that it holds the power to lock and unlock hearts. I know, a pretty nifty weapon, however, there’s a price; the heartless will seek out the users of the keyblade, they use the blade as a homing beacon and their desires is simple, take the heart that commands it. So, keyblade wielders are under constant attack. Which, I hate to break it to you, kid, but you are in serious danger.”

“Time out, you just said that only a keyblade wielder is under constant attack. I use a sword; I don’t have a keyblade!” Tori cried out.

Jasper just shook his head. “And that is where you are wrong, Zidane and Gladio both saw a key trying to manifest into your hand.” He explained. “By the way, those two? I already chewed them out for you.”

“Yes, I heard you…and you woke me up with that.” Tori swung his legs. “But still, I’m not a keyblade wielder. I mean, yeah the key tried to manifest into my hands, but seeing that it never stayed…I think it’s safe to say that I’m not a wielder.”

Zidane walked over and plopped down beside him. “See, I can understand that completely. Maybe your heart isn’t strong enough, that was my reasoning, but then…I saw this bad boy on you.” He held up Tori’s hand, showing the gold bangle to the group. “Now, I haven’t seen runes for a while since my time as a thief, but I know a magic seal when I see one. What kind of Master puts a bind on his apprentice?”

Tori yanked his arm away from Zidane. “Because my powers are highly volatile?”

“Is that what he told you? Because from where I’m sitting, those bangles are why the keyblade won’t manifest for you. Fortunately for you, I know how to remove binds, it’s one of my many talents.” Zidane grinned. “Now hold still, let me get them off for you.”

“Hey back off!” Tori moved away from him. “I’m not kidding when I say my powers are highly volatile, a simple candle spell for me ends up causing arson. I would torch this building to the ground if I didn’t have these bangles on.”

“You said you were in training to be a magician though!” Zidane countered. “Isn’t the whole point of training to learn how to keep your powers in check?”

“Zidane, enough.” Gladiolus scolded. “If the boy doesn’t want you to remove his binds, then respect his choices.”

Zidane turned to his partner, “But Gladio, how is he going to use the keyblade if he doesn’t get those binds off?!”

“Enough! Both of you! We’ll worry about the keyblade and the kid’s bindings later, right now, we need to focus and get whatever information we can before we do something drastic.” Jasper looked at Tori. “Sorry about the kid, could you tell us everything leading up to coming here?”

*****

Jasper took in everything that Tori had said; how he got here through a portal (weird, but okay), and how he was looking for the other person that was attached to the other end of the red string (well you most certainly missed your mark by a district). It was clear to him that this kid was in way over his head and didn’t quite grasp what was going on, somewhere in the explanation, he had to send Gladiolus out to retrieve Suzie, they needed to approach this delicately and she was better at being gentle and blunt than any of the three were.

“Okay, so say that all of what you said is true and you are looking for someone, why can’t you just make another portal to wherever he is?” Jasper asks as he nodded to Gladio and Zidane to go and retrieve his second in command.

“The portals were created by the dimension elves; I can’t recreate the spell.” Tori crossed his arms. “Also, finding him isn’t that easy; the connection to him is weak, the light within him, though strong, is pretty faint. My guess is that we’re two halves of the same heart and the split makes it difficult to fully track someone down.”

“Still sounds like a mess you’re in.” Jasper shook his head. “Look, regardless if this story of yours is true or not, you can’t go back out there. It’s dangerous, and with your own spells being blocked and how abysmal your sword fighting is, it’s best if you stay with us.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t insult my sword fighting skills.” Tori stood up and grabbed his bag. “Look, I have to get going, that portal is going to close soon and if the person I’m looking for isn’t in this district I have to walk out and try another door.” 

“What part of _it’s_ _dangerous_ are you not understanding?” Jasper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine at least let me and my friend escort you to this ‘portal’ you keep talking about, she should be here soon.”

Very well, is what Tori would have said if not for the buzzing of his phone. Blanching, he quickly took it out and saw the alarm going off. No. No no no. No, this was bad, this was really bad. Not even hearing Jasper calling for him, Tori just took off out of the apartment and running down the alleyway and the plaza and right up to where the portal was. The door before him shimmered and faded into the wall, leaving nothing but an outline of where it was. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Tori ran up and started to slap the spot, begging for it to come back, begging for it to just stay open for another minute, begging to return home. He had a small audience behind him, they saw the portal for a brief moment, it was nice to know it confirmed the boy’s story, but seeing the kid on his hands and knees trying not to break down was heartbreaking.

Jasper looked to his friend, Suzie and silently nodded. She walked over and laid a hand on Tori’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze to break him out of his hysterics. Tear filled grey eyes looked up at her in silent confusion, she just gently guided him back to the group.

“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on…actually scratch that, we don’t know what’s going on with you and those portals, but we know that freaking out like this isn’t going to help you in the slightest. The heartless preys on weak hearts and going into hysterics doesn’t really help.” She explained. “Tell you what, let’s go back to the apartments and try to get some sleep okay? Once we’re well rested and have a clear mind, we’ll start planning out the next course of action, does that sound like a plan?”

Tori nodded and just let his shoulders drop in silent defeat, he was too tired to fight. Actually, he was too tired to even think anymore, sleep actually sounded good and probably what he needed. When morning came, he could worry about everything else later. He let himself be guided back into Jasper’s apartment and guided to the bed, the only thing he was able to process was that someone was on guard duty tonight in the halls, after that, everything just went black and it was off to dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I did not forget the journal entry for Traverse Town, we're not done with the town yet. Next chapter will have the entries


	3. World 2.5: Traverse Town & Hidden Kingdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said in the tags "Fuck the original lore" but that was because of how complicated this shit is (and I've played all of the games too T_T) but, that doesn't mean I'm going to ignore it. I'm going to try working with what canon gives me and try to untangle this complicated web.
> 
> Latin:  
Te mihi revelare: Reveal Yourself to Me
> 
> Coming Soon to add into this fic: A hand drawn picture of the keyblade in question (I'm not an artist, so I can't promise how good it'll look)

If it hadn’t been for the alarm clock, Tori wouldn’t have known it was morning. Apparently, Traverse Town was a town seeped in eternal night so unless you had a clock of some kind, you were going to screw over your sleeping schedule. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, he felt like it was Platinum Jail all over again with the eternal night. Dragging himself out of bed, he brushed his hair and teeth before grabbing his bag and making his way down to the lobby area where the rest of the residents were, there was a blond with glasses going around and handing everyone a plate of food, the smell was enough to make his own stomach growl. When was the last time he had anything to eat? Well, it couldn’t hurt to get something to eat before returning to his home world and try to locate his other half. Making his way to a table, Tori decided to take this time to get a good look at everyone; most everyone had a warrior air about them, the only ones who didn’t seem much of a fighter were the blond photographer the green haired girl in a red dress, and the blond chef that was making his way over to his table.

“Good morning, I haven’t seen you around before.” The blond greeted. “You must be the new Keyblade wielder that Jasper mentioned.”

“I’m not a wielder.” Tori muttered.

“Not yet, we don’t know that for certain.” Jasper reminded him. “You did start to manifest the key.”

Tori looked over at him, beside him was a woman in a dark purple dress with a plunging neckline and an ornate headpiece, the most striking feature on her person were her olive eyes that seemed to glow. The regal aura the woman was giving was enough to make him bow his head in respect to her, to which she smiled and sat across from him with Jasper just as the blond took out a pen and notepad. 

“So, what are we in the mood for today, kiddo?”

“Do you have like cereal or something?” Tori asked. “I won’t be staying long.”

“Get him steak and eggs, Ignis.” Jasper sighed.

“I don’t want steak and eggs though, I just said I have to get going. The portals are opened now and chances are the one for this town reopened.” Tori sighed.

“There’s the key word, chance.” Jasper pointed out. “You don’t know for certain if it is open or not.”

“It still couldn’t hurt to see it.” The woman spoke up. “Lightning and Quistis are already out on patrol so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“I guess, but Edea, what if this is just a waste of time?” Jasper speaks up towards the matron. “No offense Tori, but what if the portal is closed for good, what are you going to do then? You won’t have a master to go to.”

“Then I just continue my mission as planned, I’m certain it can’t be that hard to create a portal to another world.” Tori looked down at a fork. “Might take a lot out of me, but I can still try.”

“Let me see if I am understanding you correctly,” Edea spoke up. “You are going to carelessly cast a spell in hopes of creating a portal to another world without knowing if you’re successful at the risk of harming your very being?” She tsked in disappointment. “You’re a student, your magic won’t be that strong and you’re bound to kill yourself if you try.”

Tori looked up at her. “If you know of another Royal Magician that can train me while I’m outside the palace, I’m all ears.” He snapped.

“You are looking at the woman who trained some of the best mages in our home world, and I will not stand by and let you yell at her with such disrespect.” Jasper said sternly, glaring at the other to instill some sort of fear.

The young apprentice bowed his head in apology. “My apologies, ma’am.” He forced out. “I was not aware that I was in the presence of another Master.”

“It’s quite alright, Jasper tends to be very protective of us, especially given our current circumstances. But still, I don’t think a spell like what you are trying to achieve is possible if it were, well I certainly would know about it.” Edea looked at the other. “I’ve taught Jasper and Tina here all I know, and still we haven’t come across such a spell.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her anymore, but she did have a point. Tori had just got done saying the spell in question was performed by the Dimension Elves, so there’s no other records of this. Still, he was a bit miffed that he was being shot down for something he couldn’t prove this second, he didn’t spend his childhood in the palace walls just to be told by some witch he didn’t know that the Dimension Elves weren’t real. They were real, and they came by the palace every festival night! With a huff, he just turned to the blond who brought over his breakfast, it was probably best if he had his strength up before returning to his world and before he returned home and had to go through another portal. His other half was no longer in this world, and he had serious doubts that anyone in this little dining hall had means to travel to other worlds, so there was really no need to stay in Traverse Town any longer than needed to. Closing his eyes, he murmured the spell again and tried to locate his soulmate, what he got was…indescribable. The world he was in was nothing but nonsense; a brightly colored cat, singing flowers, just where the hell was his other half? Wherever he was, he was going to have a field day trying to locate the portal that lead to wherever this crazy world was (A room with a table on the ceiling, he was going to have an ulcer already from this sort of madness).

“Thank you again for breakfast, I should get going.” Tori stood up and grabbed his bag. “You’re free to follow if you wish.”

“That’s what we were planning on anyway.” Jasper stood and followed Tori out.

The invitation only went to Jasper, yet for some reason the two women; Suzie and Edea found it necessary to follow him as well. Whatever, he was staying with his original statement to his master; these four just followed me, I was about to let them return to their world. Short, simple, and to the point. Making their way to the fourth district where the portal was last scene, Tori moved ahead and took out the skeleton key that Lady Shari had given him at the start of the journey, he held it tightly and whispered to himself – a spell to reveal the portal. His eyes glowing a bright silver and the key was coated in a bright light.

_“Te mihi revelare”_

The light from the key shot forward into a wall of the building, drawing out a doorway before the sound of a lock clicking was heard and the new door opened up on its own. Jasper, Edea, and Suzie just stared at the scene with wide eyes, they couldn’t believe what they just witnessed! This was supposed to be downright impossible; they’ve studied magic for how long now and they never came across anything like this! Suzie was the first to approach Tori and ask what on earth had just happened, the young boy just looked at her and silently led the small group through the door and back into the temple. To say that his little party was surprised was an understatement, both Jasper and Edea walked down the halls a bit to look at the doors before them that led to other worlds, Suzie was taking in the structure before catching up with them. A few times they would try opening some of the doors despite them being locked before they would regroup with Tori and watched as he would look over some of the doors that would show what lied beyond the threshold. The problem with the world he saw his second half in was that it was indescribable, so he couldn’t really say ‘Okay everyone, I found the door where my soulmate is, thanks for coming with me to make sure I don’t die you can head home now’ to the group. If he did, chances are they would insist on coming with him.

“I wasn’t expecting you to bring guests this soon.” A calm voice rang out.

Tori turned and saw his Master beside the trio and smiled. “They wanted to check out my account on the portals and to make sure I got through safely.” He walked over and bowed in respect to him. “I’m sorry for not making it back in time last night, Master. I was a little preoccupied.”

Mahad raised his hand and shook his head. “Don’t fret, just so long as you have the skeleton key you can find your way back here when dawn approaches.” He smiled and looked to the group. “Now then, who are your friends?”

“I’m Jasper.” The lavender haired boy spoke up. “Leader of the fourth district in Traverse Town and novice magician, trained under Lady Edea.” He bowed in respect. “It is an honor to meet you, sir, your apprentice spoke highly of you.”

“My name is Suzie, I’m one of the defenders of the fourth district, my job is to keep an area secure and to send word if any hostile individuals show up. There are others like me in the other two districts, and I am the captain of that group.” She bowed as well. “Your apprentice is quite gifted, my lord.”

Edea smiled and gave a short bow. “And I am Edea, I am Jasper’s teacher in magic. Your student is ambitious, he was close to recreating the portal to return to you if the key didn’t work.” She looked at him. “Permit me for questioning your methods, but about the binds on your pupil’s wrists, is there any chance I may convince you to remove them?”

Mahad crossed his arms and looked at her with a narrowed eye look. “Depends on what your reasoning is?”

“Before we do, may I ask, as a royal magician you are familiar with magical artifacts, correct?” she asked, she watched him nod before continuing. “Where does a keyblade fall in such a category?”

The master froze in place, his eyes grew wide as he turned to his apprentice. “I…suppose it counts as a magical artifact.” He replied carefully. “Why, did Tori summon one?” he asked.

“That’s what they said what happened.” Tori confirmed. “Apparently, one of their friends saw one try to manifest into my hands but because of the binds it wasn’t able to come to fruition.” He held his hands out to his master. “I’m not sure how true this is since the account was given to me by a thief, and since we have our own thief problem, I don’t entirely feel inclined to believe his words.”

“Okay, look.” Jasper spoke up. “Zidane may be a thief, but he still has honor, he’ll protect his friends and home.”

“Break it up you two.” Mahad scolded. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to test this claim.” He removed the binds and nodded to Tori. “Bring forth the keyblade, apprentice.” He ordered.

Nodding, Tori held his hand out and closed his eyes, putting everything he had into this. His heart, his light, his powers, everything that made him who he was. Feeling a bit of weight in his hand, he opened his eyes and saw the strange blade resting in his hand, the surprised look of his master, the look of awe and wonder from his companions, he looked back down at the strange weapon in his hand and moved it around to get a good look at it. Gold in color, a pyramid charm at the end, jagged blades with the following written on them; Light, Darkness, Twilight. The handguard had a scarab in the center and intricate carvings to resemble palace pillars. He gave it a swift swing to find that it cuts through with ease, it was lightweight in feeling yet it felt powerful with each swing. He had to admit it felt different than a sword, but for some reason, it felt right to use this instead of a traditional blade.

“I don’t believe it; this kid is the hope we’ve been waiting for?” Jasper asked in disbelief. “Leon’s going to have a heart attack when we tell him.”

“Settle down, Jasper.” Edea scolded, she turned to Mahad and kept a calm composure. “Master Mahad, what was the real reason of the boy’s quest? He claims to be searching for someone.”

“I can assure you that him finding his other half is true.” Mahad confirmed. “As I had told Tori when he had told me of his aching heart; a soulmate could mean romantic relations, but it can also mean platonic – the bond one shares with those they call your family and friends, or in this case; finding someone who is lost, be it a friend or just an ally he would share a long and hard journey with. This person is connected to him and he is connected to them even though the two hadn’t met, and that pain won’t cease until they meet.” He looked to Tori.

“And his binds?” Suzie challenged. “Why would you have your apprentice in magic binds?”

Mahad looked to the boy beside him and sighed. “He is a raw magic user and I’m certain Lady Edea can indeed confirm that raw magic has volatile properties, I’m not certain if the reason for his unpredictable powers is because of the keyblade or if it was something else. We opted for the binds to keep things at a steady flow, to try and regulate the flow of his powers, I wasn’t expecting it to keep the keyblade itself at bay as well.”

“And now that they’re off, what are you going to do?” Jasper challenged as well. “Are you planning to send him on this journey alone now like you did before?”

“While Tori can indeed hold his own, I do encourage him to gain allies to aid him on this journey.” Mahad scoffed. “But now with the keyblade, I am going to have to ask that he sees me for training whenever he returns here. Both in magic, and in using the blade he holds in his hands.”

“Why don’t I take some of the workload off your shoulders.” Edea offered. “I taught the elite of magic users back in my home world, with your permission, I would like to train your apprentice in controlling his raw powers while he is in Traverse Town.”

Mahad thought it over and looked back to Tori, he nodded and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise, I will explain everything to you whenever I can.” He promised. “I will start now by saying you have a new responsibility to take in your hand, and that is you are to seal the worlds you visit with the keyblade. Can you do that while you are searching for your soulmate?”

Tori bit his lips nervously and nodded. “I’m not certain by what you mean but, it’s important right?” he smiled a little. “And you know I can multitask, remember? I did deliveries for you to the council room _and_ helped a servant mop up the courtyard?”

“Would that be the same day you twisted your ankle because you tied two scrub brushes on your shoes?” Mahad reminded, he chuckled after seeing the blush on his face. “Do you have a lead to where your soulmate may be?”

“Sort of, it’s hard to describe and I’m worried I might not be able to complete the task and get back here in time.”

“You have a camping set in your bag, I have faith you’ll be fine.” Mahad looked to Jasper and Suzie. “You have allies to help you after all.” Jasper and Suzie smiled at Tori as the magician had said that. Tori looked at them once and shook his head, he crossed his arms and held his head up high.

“That I do.” He walked up to Jasper and Suzie. “Sir Jasper, Lady Suzie, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on this journey?”

“Please drop the formalities.” Suzie started. “Besides, we have our job from Leon; ‘protect Traverse Town and should the keyblade wielder find their way to you, protect them and join them on their journey.’ We’re kind of honor bound to those orders.” She grinned.

“You’re not getting rid of us that easy.” Jasper nudged him. “These portals stay open until sunset right? Can you keep the one to Traverse Town open for us? we’re just going to stock up on some supplies and return Lady Edea back to the others, then we’ll be ready to head out.”

Tori nodded and lead the way back to Traverse Town. “I can’t really keep the portal open, but I do have the skeleton key that Lady Shari gave me, I can get us back to the temple.” He turned to Mahad and bowed again. “Guess I’ll see you when I get back from the next world?”

“Safe travels, to all of you and may the gods protect you.” Mahad said calmly with a gentle smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Journal Entries:  
Hidden Kingdom  
Tori Dalimar: A boy from the desert, grew up as an apprentice to a royal magician and grew up in the palace. His heart ached one day and recently found out that there was another person who shared the red string of fate. The young apprentice once had bindings to keep his unpredictable power in check, now with the binds off his power is at full force. The bindings kept him from being able to summon the keyblade, he agreed to a new responsibility given to him - confident he can juggle two tasks at once.  
Master Mahad: A royal magician and Tori's master. Served the Pharaoh for an undetermined amount of time and has vast knowledge of the craft. He is knowledgeable in the subject of the Keyblade and deeply regrets binding his apprentice earlier, he aims to make up for lost time by training him now.
> 
> Traverse Town  
Zidane Tribal: A hot blooded thief with a heart of gold. Zidane was part of a theater group/thief guild, though immature, he has shown that he can be reliable when the situation calls for it.   
Jasper: A novice Magician and leader of the group isolated in the fourth district; Jasper is a kind young man willing to fight for those who need it most.  
Suzie: Defender of Traverse Town, a royal guard in training of her home world. Suzie takes up the mantel of being the responsible leader alongside with Jasper. Takes orders seriously and will fight for people who need it.  
Gladiolus Amicitia: Gladiolus ensures the team does not sway from its goal, a shield and friend to a prince in his homeworld. Despite his rough exterior he is actually an easy-going person and pretty friendly to others.   
Edea Kramer: A powerful Sorceress, Edea has trained since a young age in her magic, and has mastered it quite well, though seemingly cold on the outside this matron has made it her duty to care for the displaced children of Traverse Town.  
Ignis Scientia: Adviser to the same prince that Gladiolus protects. Composed and serious, he is proud of his cooking skills and offers friendly banter and tries to lighten the spirits of others. He is the brains behind the group.


	4. Gravity Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look another worm hole in which I decided to combine things again and edit things :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if it counts as a Prompt, but screw it, I slid it in anyway
> 
> Prompt 9: The Screams echoed around the room creating a cacophony of emotion.
> 
> Edit: So, I felt like this chapter was too short, so I decided to combine what I had originally for the next chapter into this. Pardon about that everyone.
> 
> Edit 2: I decided to make this longer
> 
> Note: In Journal 3: Stanford mentions about traveling through various dimensions. If we were to put that into perspective then there is a chance he might have visited Land of Departure in his dimension hopping. So yes, he has met Mahad before. And Yes, I am well aware I should have done Birth By Sleep before Game 1, but guess what we already started we'll get to BBS when we get there!

Fire. Everything was on fire. If it wasn’t burning it was some weird abomination, a waterfall of blood was raising up to the sky, the trees were human like in nature; there were trees that had human faces in the bark that were screaming in agony and a few that were just human legs, eyeball bats, everything was just horrible and grotesque. It was the god damn apocalypse in this world, and the three were caught up in it hiding away in an empty building to avoid being taken by those weird stone gazing eyeball bats. While the base was safe for the time being, they had to move on pretty soon as the streets were currently being flooded with new monsters, that and they couldn’t hold off the weird wave that seemed to flood by every twenty minutes any longer. Tori glanced over to his two allies with an apologetic look, he felt responsible for dragging them into this, and with the portal closed and possibly moved due to the apocalypse, getting out and back to the temple was going to be a chore. They were stuck here because of him and there was a chance a demon was going to beat the ever-loving hell out of them if they stay any longer.

Suzie stood up and grabbed their shared bag before nodding to the door. Things were quiet for the most part despite the monsters in the street, if they wanted to head out and looked for a new base, they would have to do it now, and hurry on out while they still can. Jasper nodded and took Tori by the hand before following her out. Town was hell on earth, but at least the forests should be fine if not weird, at least with strange animals they could probably fight off with no problem at all. It was decided as they ran out of the town and into the forests, dodging anything that might come their way – mostly they just jumped and ducked to avoid tripping over a boulder or getting smack with a tree branch. Somewhere in their wandering they came across a shack in the middle of the woods, it looked like it used to be a tourist trap and it unaffected by the weirdness that was going on – mostly because it looked abandoned. Whatever the case it was settled that they would use this place for the night, there was no sense in sleeping in an area where they would be vulnerable to any and all weird attack or vulnerable enough for a demon to slaughter them without any hesitation. Looking to each other, the group gave a silent nod to each other and allowed one of their own to go in first; Jasper walked in with a staff in hand to make sure the area was secure before the others could enter. It was clear, he nodded and waved them over to enter the cabin. Both Tori and Suzie sighed in relief and made their way inside, closing the door behind them and making their way into a living room area, the three were greeted to a group of survivors armed with some kind of weapon; humans, weird creatures, and what the hell was that bear thing? The trio drew their own weapon and aimed it for defense, both parties were just honed in on each other, waiting for the other to make their first move. 

“Stand down, we’re not here to cause harm!” Tori cried.

“Yikes, stand down everyone, they’re kids.” An older gentleman cried. “Kids, what the heck were you doing out there?”

Jasper lowered his staff first, “It’s a long story, but the short version is that we’re looking for someone.” And the keyhole, but that wasn’t anything they were going to say outright.

“Hate to break it to you, but chances are whoever it is you’re looking for is already captured by Bill.” A girl with red haired said.

“Who’s Bill?” Tori asked.

“What do you mean, ‘who’s Bill?’” A blond girl asked. “Bill is the one responsible for this apocalypse! He’s a demon! He’s sick, and twisted, and if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this potato sack dress!”

Suzie held her hand up to quiet the room down. “Okay, you made your point clear miss.” She looked to Tori in concern. “This does prove a problem though, does anyone know how we can get to Bill?”

The old man laughed. “Oh man, you kids are definitely new to Gravity Falls. Missy, you can’t simply walk up to Bill’s base expecting to come out alive. If anything, he sends his minions after you and you’re either a stone statue or you’re used as one his ‘party favors.’ We’ve been hunkered down here in the Mystery Shack for…what three days now? Hard to tell since the demon stopped the flow of time.”

“There has to be a way!” Tori insisted. “We can’t just sit back and do nothing!”

A brunette girl spoke up. “We have a plan; see we were going to turn this shack into a giant robot to fight the demons and then break into Bill’s lair to save our great uncle Stanford.” She started out. “The problem is, we need a way to distract Bill. We doubt he’s going to come out and fight the robot.”

“Then leave that part to us.” Suzie said. “You’re in front of two witches, just give us something to enchant and we’ll fly up and keep Bill busy for you long enough to get your great uncle out.”

“Just who the hell do you think you are?” The blond girl demanded. “You can’t be serious about this!”

“We are.” Tori smiled. “Also, if you’re serious about knowing us; I’m Tori, and these are my two friends; Jasper and Suzie. Nice to meet ya!”

The brunette laughed. “I like your style, I’m Mabel!” She introduced. “This is Pacifica, my twin brother Dipper, our other great uncle Stanley, and our two friends Wendy and Soos.” She went around introducing everyone; from the old man with a baseball bat, to the redhead with the axe, to even some…gopher man with a shovel.

Stanley spoke up. “Can you three really handle Bill, he’s not just a demon, he’s a master of the mind he knows you better than you know yourself. He’ll use any means to get what he wants.”

“Sir, I can assure you, we’ll be fine, we have something that Bill won’t see coming.” Jasper smiled at Tori. “Call it our secret weapon, now then, let’s get this robot made and take Bill down.”

*****  
If you were to ask Tori how he felt about the mission, he would put on a bravado and say he wasn’t worried and that he had confidence in the plan. But that was if he was back in the palace helping the magicians plan their defenses for any and all possible invaders, here, here he was in the middle of an apocalypse where even one small slip up would cause the downfall of not only himself but his allies and possibly the rest of the world. The levitation charm that was placed on a car was the easy part, it blended in with the weirdness of Bill’s chaos, the wait for the robot to give the single was just as easy, it wasn’t hard for the group at the shack to keep Bill’s minions busy so they could guide the car over to the pyramid. The hard part was getting in and getting the jump on the main demon, if what Stanley had said was true about Bill being all knowing, he was probably expecting them to show up and was ready to tear them apart limb by limb. That is what Tori was scared about, they had one chance at this and they couldn’t afford any foul ups. His heart was racing as they got closer and closer to the pyramid.

Once inside the pyramid, the trio cautiously left the car and had their weapons drawn. The room was completely empty, save for a kid dancing in a cage and a throne of frozen humans; the silent screams echoed around the room creating a cacophony of emotions. The dread feeling returned and Tori felt like he was going to vomit on the spot, the only reason he wasn’t able to was because of the comforting hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Suzie and felt at ease with her gentle smile. Why was he nervous? He had his friends to help him out on this mission, he was going to take Bill down with the help of his friends and nothing was going to stop them!

“Okay, keep your eyes open.” Jasper warned. “Bill could be anywhere.”

“Whatever you say, boss.” Came a high-pitched voice. “And if we see him?”

“Then we let loose whatever we have. Suzie, you’ll charge with your sword and shield, I’ll distract him with some fire magic, and Tori, you’re going to land the final blow with the keyblade.” 

“Sounds like a great plan! Now I know what to use against you!”

Jasper paled and looked behind him; there before him was a man in a golden suit with a brick pattern on the coattail, a black top hat rested on his messy blond hair, a black triangle eyepatch rested over one of his bright blue eyes, a sharp tooth smile greeted him, and he was resting against a cane.

“Bill-!”

“In the flesh!” Bill laughed. “What do you think of my new form? I thought it suitable for when company came over.”

“You were…”

“Please, I saw your plan the moment I saw that old beat up car of Fez’ fly up into the sky.” He looked over at his nails. “You mages are so predictable.” What he wasn’t counting on was a shield thrown into his face. He recoiled and looked at the trio. “Wow, rude, and I came to greet you at the door and everything.” He tossed aside his cane and started to levitate. “Fine, if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get!”

He raised his hand and shot down a rain of lightning, causing the trio to scatter. They decided to go forth with the original plan; Suzie was charging towards Bill and slashing at him, using her shield to hide from any and all blasts he threw at them. Bill just laughed and moved from her sword when she tried again, his actions caused Jasper to go at him with not only fire balls but also summoning vines and thorns to hold Bill down, he was no longer focused on Suzie but instead getting out of the trap that was laid for him, his distraction was what Tori needed to bring down the final blow. Bill let out an agonizing cry before falling back and hitting the ground, a few prods with the keyblade confirmed that he wasn’t going to be getting up anytime soon. They felt like the battle was too easy, even so, they still had a job to do. Sending out the signal flare, the trio awaited the rescue mission from the people at the Mystery Shack. They could sit and breath easily now.

It was wishful thinking.

A soft chuckle was heard before a full-blown laughter was heard. The trio paled in horror realization; of course, Bill wouldn’t go down in one fight, why did they think otherwise! The rescue party would be walking right into a danger zone and Bill…oh hell, Bill probably anticipated this happening.

“Hahaha! Oh man, that was the most fun I’ve had in _**ages**_! You’ve got some spirit kid, I mean holy shit, it’s not every day that some runt comes running in with a keyblade.” Bill brushed off his suit and leaned on his cane. “So! I’m going to cut you a deal, something that’ll benefit the both of us.”

“What kind of a deal?” Tori had his blade ready still. 

“Easy kiddo.” He pushed the blade down. “It’s nothing serious! See, you have potential, I mean you have more potential than the senile fucker that’s hanging above us,” he pointed to the hanging cages. “So, here’s my offer, you stay with me here in the Fearamid and study under me, you get access to all sorts of knowledge that any scholar could hope to dream of, I’ll be happy to take you on as my apprentice. And in return,” his grin grew. “You just use that pretty key of yours to unlock the barrier that surrounds this town!”

“Tori no!” Suzie yelled. “He’s a demon, he can’t be trusted!”

“You flatter me, missy.” Bill looked at her. “True I am a demon, but I always keep my end of the deals. After all, Sixer up there made a deal with me, I gave him the means to build the interdimensional portal and helped him achieve greatness! Think about it, side with me kid and you’ll have your powers under control and you’ll surpass even the most powerful wizard!” he held his hand out, blue flames engulfed. “So how about it, do we have a deal?”

There was some consideration in Tori’s eyes, if he took the deal he could whip through his training as a magician’s apprentice. He could become a master in no time! Still, at the same time, this demon was the cause of the apocalypse that was going on outside, if he were to take this deal, he would have to word things carefully unless he wanted to destroy the world and millions of innocent people. He lowered his blade and looked up at Bill, making sure to keep eye contact with him.

“I will accept under a few conditions.” He said sternly. “First; I want you to call off the apocalypse, I’m not going to sit by in the safety of a study while others suffer.” He watched as Bill scoffed at that. “And second; I want you to release the human prisoners you have as your throne and hanging in the cages, set them free and let them return to their loved ones.” A small hum was the demon’s answer. “Only if you accept those two conditions will I accept your deal.”

“Seriously Tori, don’t do it! Bill’s just going to twist the deal into his favor! Trust me, I would know!” Suzie warned.

“How do you know?” Tori looked at her. “Did you…”

“Yes…I made a deal with a demon from the same dimension that Bill’s from.” She admitted.

“And that is enough from the peanut gallery.” Bill snapped his fingers, causing a zipper to form on Suzie’s mouth before locking it. “Don’t you just hate it when other people try to interrupt business negotiations? It’s really rude, so, about your conditions, I can work with that, but I just want to make sure I’m understanding everything correctly; you want me to return my prisoners to their families, and you want humanity to be safe and sound while you study under me, is that correct?”

“That is correct.” Tori confirmed.

“Then it’s a deal kiddo,” he stretched his hand out a little further. “Just shake my hand and the deal will be sealed.” Just as Tori was about to reach out and accept his offer, a swing of the sword came down and severed Bill’s hand clean off. Bill shrieked in pain, his once blue eye now pitch-black, the golden suit now a crimson red, he turned to the culprit with his sharp teeth bearing as he honed in on Jasper. “You little bitch.” He hissed.

Jasper moved Tori behind him, “I have a new deal for you Bill, one final fight should we win you and your spawns from hell return to wherever it is you came from!”

“Fine, but if _I_ win that little keyblade warrior is my champion until his dying days!” Bill grew his hand back and gave it a quick flick. “But first let me change into something more appropriate!” 

Gone was the handsome gentleman, in place was an unholy abomination; a triangle – shaped creature with six arms, two mouths, the best way to describe this being before them was some kind of Lovecraftian Eldritch Horror. The three heroes felt their hearts sink as their raised their weapons once more; Jasper started off by casting an ice shard into Bill’s eye, causing him to go temporarily blind from the impact and giving Suzie and Tori room to make their attacks. Suzie leaped into the air and brought down her sword down, cutting off one of Bill’s arms. It grew back but it still took some time, Tori rushed over with the keyblade and slashed down the middle torso section of the triangle form. Bill let out a shriek, his eye returned and he was in position to attack the three heroes; he brought down a rain of fire to separate the trio so it would be easy for him to pick them off one by one. Now separated, Bill had an easier chance to take everyone out one by one; he started with the keyblade wielder and grabbed him, holding him high above the ground with the treat of slamming and breaking every bone in his body. Tori struggled and tried stabbing at his arm with the weapon, it caused Bill some discomfort but he wasn’t wavering, Bill was keen in keeping Tori to force the other two to reconsider some of their attacks. Jasper kept his gaze on Bill, watching his every move as well as dodging his attacks and healing Suzie if needed. He only had one chance at the opportunity to get his friend out of (one of) Bill’s hands, he raised his own staff and his own eyes started to glow as he called out the spell needed to weaken the demon.

“Sanctus Ignis.”

A bright ball of flame formed and shot right in Bill’s face, the demon howled and dropped Tori, Suzie rushed over and caught the boy. She grunted and carried Tori to a safe distance, before dropping him on his ass. He just smiled in thanks to her before standing up and getting himself armed, so treating this like a sword wasn’t going to work; perhaps instead of treating this like a fight in the arena, he should start treating this like a mage with raw magic should. Grey eyes were burning bright, he took hold of Suzie’s shield and casted a protective blessing on it for her attacks to have a powerful impact, and now he was ready to go. He rushed out and aimed his ‘staff’ over at Bill, holy fire was one way to knock Bill to the ground, how would he feel about divine lightning? Well, it was definitely the result he was looking for, the demon went down and Suzie went with one final strike. 

The demon gave a shrill cry before ending the fight there and now, he pushed the three back with a harsh force wind and slammed everyone into a wall before returning his form into the humanoid figure before. He cracked his neck and stretched out to pop any joints he felt stiff. He walked over and pressed his cane under Jasper chin and forced him to look up at him.

“What is it with kids and having so much energy? You’d think they’d tire out after the first fight, but not you three, no. No, you three are something else.” He bent forward a little. “Maybe I should extend the deal to all three of you but…After you taking my arm and your girlfriend taking my eye, I guess you can say I have a bit of a trust issue.” He pressed it further, grinning as Jasper gasped for air. “You remind me of Sixer if he was a teenager with brightly colored hair.”

“Leave them alone, Bill!” came a sharp voice.

Bill looked over and flashed a toothy grin. “Well, well, look who broke out of jail with the help of his family.” He turned and twirled the cane. “Hate to tell ya Sixer, but I don’t need you.” He moved and grabbed Tori by the forearm. “I have a new apprentice that’s going to spring me out.”

“I have a deal for you that you can’t possibly refuse!” 

That got Bill’s attention. “A deal you say.” He walked over, dragging the boy with him. “I’m all ears, Stanford, what could you possibly offer that’s better than a keyblade wielder?”

Stanford didn’t break eye contact with him. “As you no doubt know, I’ve been stuck dimension hopping – no thanks to the portal you tricked me into building.” He started off. “I’ve trained under Keyblade masters, even completing the Mark of Mastery. I’ll side with you, allow you into my mind to get the formula to break out of Gravity Falls, and train your new apprentice.”

“And in return you want your sweet family safe. Yeah, yeah.” Bill waved his hand dismissively, he shoved Tori to the side and watched him return to his friends before turning to the scientist. “You offer up a good deal, Sixer, nice to see you’re using your brain for once.” He held his glowing blue hand out. “Consider it a deal then, you know what to do.”

Despite the pleading protests, Stanford took Bill’s hand. There was a bright glow and in place of Bill was a stone statue with his hand extended, Stanford was in a trance like state, and just as the team of three was about to get up and rush over to stop what was happening the two young Pines twins rushed over and held them back. They stared at them weird before looking to the newcomer, at first, they believed it to be Stanley from the Mystery Shack, but after one removal of the gun and holding a weird device in his hand the realization dawned. Stanley and Stanford were twins as well; ‘Sixer’ was out and aiming the contraption at Stanley before shooting at his head. The dazed gentleman was out like a light, and the chaos that was happening outside was starting to vanish one by one; All the weirdness was returning back into the rift, people who were turned to stone were returned back to normal, everything in town though damaged was back to normal. Even the rescue party was back in the forest beside the still unconscious Stanley Pines. 

Suzie looked up at the group and finally spoke up. “What entirely happened?”

“This is a memory gun.” Mabel said softly. “You put in what you want the person to forget, aim, shoot, and they forget.”

“So…you made him forget Bill?” Jasper asked.

“No…we erased everything about him himself, it…it was the only way to destroy Bill since…we were a few people short of the zodiac.” Stanford looked down.

“That’s not true!” Tori snapped. “Yeah, you erased his mind, but memories live in your heart! The heart stores everything; your memories, knowledge, it’s the most important part of you and that will never fade.”

“Hey could you keep it down.” Stanley sat up and held his head, he looked around and then at the group before him. “Yeesh, you kids look like you’ve seen better days. Hunting trip gone wrong?”

“Y-Yeah, you can say that.” Jasper helped him up. “We were going to walk you home.”

“Sounds good…where is home exactly?” 

“Just follow us, Stanley.” Stanford said gently. “We know the way.”

*  
It was an emotional journey to say the least, Stanley was still recovering his memories and the trio decided to stick around town. Mostly because they still had their mission to complete; find the keyhole and seal it, they weren’t going to leave until then. In their time in town, they had made new friends and shared stories about their home world – well, minus a few details, can’t reveal too much after all that would just cause a lot of problems for them. While they stayed in town, the Stan twins decided to let them camp out at the shack until their business was finished; so far, staying with the Pines family was wonderful, they did what they could to help the family regain Stanley’s memories, they’d help out wherever was needed (I.e. Jasper and taking over kitchen duties, no Mabel, they were not serving Mabel Juice to anyone. That thing was horrible to drink and Jasper wouldn’t wish his enemies to drink that!), and whenever there was quiet days, Tori and Suzie would be out back sparring to get the hang of the keyblade’s powers. Life was simple in this little sleepy town, and to be honest, they wouldn’t have it any other way. It was days like this that made Tori wish things were back to being simple back home; yeah he probably would have had the keyblade then as well, but at least he wouldn’t entirely have to worry about this daunting task for a while, he would just be at the palace, train under his master, just as things were supposed to be.

But life wouldn’t be that simple. He had learned that lesson the moment he found himself being held hostage by an eldritch creature from hell, still, he was going to move forward. He was going to find his other half, he was going to seal these keyholes, and he was going to continue to believe that life will return to normal (well, as normal as being a magician’s apprentice can be at least). Of course, there was one problem, where was the keyhole in this weird town? The locals probably didn’t even know, and they couldn’t really afford to walk around blindly trying to find it, that would just cause them more problems than needed.

“You seem a bit stressed.” Stanford walked over. “Summer heat getting to you?”

Tori shook his head. “Just thinking.” He leaned back on the porch and sighed. “My friends and I came here on an important mission, the problem is…we can’t ask for help because it would disrupt things.”

“You can say keyhole.” He smiled and sat beside him. “As I told Stanley, who told Bill, I’ve been dimension hopping and I was in this one world where people were being trained to use a weapon known as keyblades. The only lie was that I was never trained to wield one.”

“Bill would have been ticked if he heard you say that.” Tori laughed. “So, you know about the keyblade and keyholes, I don’t suppose you know where the one for this world is?”

“Fortunately, Bill is no more, and yes, I do.” His eyes lit up. “Actually, I think this calls for a nature walk with family. Go get your friends, we have a long trek ahead of us.”

A portal that was able to transport one to another dimension, that’s what the scientist was working on a long time ago. The story of him and Bill was…disheartening to say the least, he was tricked and almost caused the apocalypse thirty odd years ago, and then it happened because Bill tricked a brokenhearted Mabel with the promise of eternal summer vacation. At least, that’s the short version of the story, Stanley had to press on why it was important for this walk and what Stanford had meant when he said he was dimension hopping. If Jasper had to be honest, he felt that some memories were probably left forgotten, Suzie was in agreement, and Tori…not so much, it was more important to remember the mistakes one made and the consequences they came with. True it was more baggage to carry, but it was probably best to keep them in case. The walk in the forest took some time before they came upon a beautiful clearing with a stone in the center; the giant rock had a carving a keyhole in it and was glowing a beautiful white aura, almost instantly some of the kids – Dipper, Mabel, and Tori that is, rushed over to touch it. Radiating warmth as well, it was the discovery of the century!

“When I started studying the anomalies in Gravity Falls, I came across this stone. At the time, I didn’t know what it was or where it led to.” He took out a book with a gold hand and the number 1 on it. “After dimension hopping, I learned that this was a keyhole to our world, and only a special key could lock it to keep other worlds from knowing about ours.”

“Doesn’t this break the rules of world hopping?” Tori asked. “Because, before I started my journey, I was told to never reveal that piece of information.”

“Hmm sort of, but I’ll take the blame for you.” He gently moved Mabel and Dipper away from the stone. “It’s all yours, Keyblade Wielder.”

“How do I – Whoa!” they key immediately reacted and forced his arm to raise and point at the keyhole, a bright light shot out and hit the center, both he and the stone glowed for a bit before the light dimmed and the sound of a lock was heard. “What was…”

“Congratulations on sealing your first keyhole, we should find the door to our world and get home.” Jasper said, patting Tori on the back.

“You guys are leaving so soon?” Dipper looked down. “But you just got here?”

“Just cause we’re leaving doesn’t mean we won’t stop and say ‘Hi’ once in a while.” Tori smiled.

“But we’re leaving after our birthday!” Mabel cried. “We’ll be back in California when you return!”

“Then it’s a good thing I have early birthday gifts.” He dug around and took out four necklaces. “I only have four left; they’re friendship charms! Complete with petals from a yellow rose, feather of a duck, encased inside of a blue laced agate, and strung on a silver chain.” He smiled and held them out. “We’ll always be together in spirit.”

Mabel grinned and immediately put it on. “I’m holding you to your word!” She poked him. “If we come back and you’re not here next summer, I’ll find a way to your world and drag you here!” her eyes lit up. “No! Even better, we’ll just rebuild the portal and then we’ll come to your world for the summer! That way, you have to hang out with us more!”

Laughter was the only response from him. Jasper chuckled and knelt down to her level before ruffling her hair, “I like your style, kid, but we’ll definitely be here at the start of the summer. Well, we’ll try to at least, we have a long journey ahead but…I don’t see a reason why we can’t write to you and tell you how we’re doing.”

“Even better! We can be pen pals for the rest of the year! And you can tell us all about your travels and how you’re fighting demons like Bill!”

“Let’s not get too carried away.” Stanford said. “First off, they still have to abide by the rules of visiting other worlds.” He ignored the raspberry sound from her. “Second, Tori still has to train under his master, he’ll most likely be too busy to even visit.” Again, ignoring the ‘boo’ from the two twins. “And finally-”

“Ah can it, Sixer!” Stanley huffed. “Forget the logical side of things, these three have the means to visit us so let them visit us and be pen pals with our grandkids.” 

“Grand niece and nephew.” Stanford corrected.

“Same difference!” he turned to the three heroes. “You three, I don’t get this whole world hopping and the talk of keys and junk but…you kids are welcomed to the Mystery Shack whenever you want, need a break? You can camp out there, we got your backs. After all, you’re honorary Pines in my book.”

Suzie smiled. “Thanks Stanley, and if Tori’s master will allow it, you guys are welcome to come with us to his world whenever we visit.”

“He will.” Tori confirmed. “Master Mahad told me to bring back the friends I made for him to meet…Actually, why should we wait! We could totally introduce you right now before you leave and before we go on our next journey!”

“Wait did you say Mahad? As in…royal magician Mahad?” Stanford asked.

“You know him?” Dipper asked.

“Sort of…I mean, when I was in another dimension, I was observing a Keyblade Mastery exam and he was there with another fellow…”

“Well, only one way to find out.” Tori smiled as he took out the skeleton key from his pocket. “I’m actually just going to summon the portal to me.” He raised it up, bright silver eyes glowing as he called out the spell. “Te mihi revelare!”

And just like before in Traverse Town, the portal that took the heroes to the strange town that was Gravity Falls appeared before them. The Pines family stared in awe as Tori led the way, unlocking the door and held it open for everyone, their eyes just widened even more when they stepped into the temple before them; Lady Shari and her people were returning to rest after a long day of story collecting, a young magician was entering the temple with a few bags from different stores, and Tori and his friends collapsing against one of the many doors that lined the temple leading to other worlds. Mabel and Dipper were immediately drawn to them and looking through peepholes to see what was happening beyond the door, (“Look! This door has mermaids in it! I wonder if Mermando is there!” “Forget the mermaids, there’s a Viking village being attacked by dragons!”). 

The magician set the bags down and approached the Pines family. “I see Tori brought home some new friends.” He chuckled. “And he brought an old friend as well, hello again Stanford, I see you made it home safely.”

“Master Mahad.” Stanford stared in wonder. “You look just like you did years ago…”

Mahad smiled. “So, I do, but as you know, a magician never reveals his secret.” He looked at the family still checking out the doors. “Your family I presume?”

“Yes. My twin brother Stanley, and my niece and nephew; Mabel and Dipper Pines.” He looked back to Mahad. “Your apprentice is a brave one, and foolish.”

“Oh dear, what has Tori done this time?”

“He almost made a deal with a demon.” Jasper called as he went through one of the bags. “What’s the story behind these protein bars and water bottles?”

Mahad shrugged. “I figured your supplies were running low, you’re welcome by the way.” He turned to Tori. “And what is this about you making a deal with a demon?”

“I was trying to stall for time!” Tori protested. “We had to keep Bill focused on us so that Stanford’s family could rescue him…So I told him I would make a deal with him.”

“Next time, inform the rest of the group of your plan?” Suzie groaned. “It was still a reckless move, Tori!”

“Sorry for panicking at the time.” Tori huffed, he went over and started to unpack his bag, setting aside the dirty clothes and old wrappers aside before packing the new food in. “Thank you for the food, Master.”

“You’re getting your own clothes, that much I am not doing.” Mahad reminded, he returned his attention to Stanford. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Stanford, I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“I’m glad you’re doing well too.” He shook his hand. “Mabel, Dipper, Stanley, come meet an old friend of mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hidden Kingdom:  
Master Mahad: A royal magician and Tori's master. Served the Pharaoh for an undetermined amount of time and has vast knowledge of the craft. He is shown to be knowledgeable in the subject of the keyblade and deeply regrets binding his apprentice earlier, he aims to make up for last time by training him while in the middle of Tori’s mission. Thirty odd years ago, he had met a strange fellow by the name of Stanford Pines while visiting another school to watch the students there being trained to wield a keyblade and to watch an exam take place.
> 
> Traverse Town:
> 
> Kuja: An angel of death sent from Garland to replace the Gaian souls with Terran ones. To accelerate the process Garland created Kuja and sent him to Gaia to incite war so Gaian souls would be replaced faster. However, after learning of being replaced, Kuja became defiant of his master and started his own noble life. He aims to carry on his original mission but in his own way as well as eradicate Garland, and that method involves the Keyblade.  
Zidane Tribal: A hot blooded thief with a heart of gold. Zidane was part of a theater group/thief guild, though immature, he has shown that he can be reliable when the situation calls for it. After running into Kuja, Zidane was shown to harbor hostile feelings towards the man called his older brother, most likely due to being caught up in the same mess as Kuja is trying to start again back in their home world. 
> 
> Gravity Falls
> 
> Bill Cipher: A charismatic dream demon from the Nightmare Realm. He arrived in the town of Gravity Falls due to manipulating a girl by the name of Mabel Pines to hand over the rift and causing the apocalypse known as Weirdmagedon. A known deal maker with a large body count to match. Unknown if he truly has been defeated or not.  
Dipper Pines: A boy with huge ambitions to study the paranormal anomalies like his great uncle Stanford Pines. Started his adventures in Gravity Falls after finding a journal that his great uncle had left behind thirty odd years ago, after meeting him face to face they began to work together.  
Mabel Pines: A sweet girl with a penchant for glitter and all things bright. After being tricked by Bill, she was unintentionally responsible for the apocalypse that was happening in Gravity Falls. She began her adventure into the unknown when her brother Dipper Pines found a strange journal in the woods since then her life and his had been one crazy summer. (Her favorite part of the summer was when she had her first kiss with a merman)  
Stanley Pines: Twin brother to the scientific genius and a conman. Struggled to bring his brother back from another dimension with the portal in the Mystery Shack’s basement, while also struggling to reconnect with him after a mistake at a science fair when they were teenagers. Sacrificed his own memories to defeat Bill and to save the town. With the help of his family and friends, Stan was able to regain his lost memories.  
Stanford Pines: A scientific genius who studies anomalies. After showing up in Gravity Falls to study the weirdness of the town, he came across a strange text on the wall of a cave, it was there he met the dream demon Bill Cipher, after being fooled by him and building the interdimensional portal he tried to stop the potential takeover. After a fight with his brother, Stanford found himself hopping through the Nightmare Realm where Bill resided and visiting various other dimensions, one such dimension he visited was at a school where Keyblade Wielders were taking an exam, he got to witness the test first hand and where he also met Master Mahad!


	5. 3.5: Traverse Town 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I procrastinated on this :D
> 
> I wanted this to be longer but I couldn't really think of what to do, so this is how it is.

Another visit to Traverse Town, another night of sleeping in the apartments. As per agreement between Edea and Mahad, Tori was in the lobby with the Mistress and was working on ice-based spells. Ignis was smart enough to coated the floor with plastic sheets, the young mage was doing pretty decent, but the number of times he ended up shattering an ice shard and getting ice all over the floor (and melting) he just finally had enough of constantly trying to mop up the area. Beside Ignis was a young blond who was taking pictures of Tori’s progress, even going as far as to congratulate him every time he got the spell done right, first class and already he was ready to just hurl the icicle out the window. Edea noticed the scowl on Tori’s face and flicked her wrist to dispel the icicle, she walked over to him and laid a hand on her head and gently ruffled his messy black hair.

“Go take a walk, clear your head, and we’ll continue.” She ordered.

“I’m not that hotheaded.” Tori muttered.

“No, but you’ve had a long day in the apocalypse, I’m certain you need some quiet time alone.”

She was right about that. He had been through a lot in a few days while he was in Gravity Falls, his mind was pretty clouded over the events and it made it hard in trying to locate where his soulmate was or…to cast any form of spells really. Tori had walked out of the apartments and made his way into the fountain plaza, out of everything here in this town his favorite places were the fountain plaza were he would find more of the defenders of town taking down heartless left and right – and a few times he would aid them, and the garden in the final district. Traverse Town, was definitely a beautiful place, the eternal night was something he would grow used to, after all it was because of this eternal night that he was able to see the town light up with beauty and splendor it was a sight that would never get old. Even here at the fountain, he found himself enjoying the rushing water as he relaxed under the stars, if the heartless weren’t a thing to worry about he would most definitely pick this place to set up a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars above. Nut outdid herself as always, she was an artist when it came to stars, of course it did pain him and possibly her to see when a star would go out. Stars going out of the blue like that was a sad sight to see, he had a feeling their disappearances had to do with these heartless running around and that’s probably what the key was for to restore them, but how would that even work? A blade that can lock and unlock hearts, seal the keyhole to other worlds, how much was even known about this power? It was just…just…he didn’t know. This was just too confusing for him. He would worry about it later, right now, he just wanted to sit and relax.

“Excuse me, are you the keyblade master?” 

Here we go again. Tori sighed and opened his eyes and stared at the person before him. Silver hair that fell halfway down his back, a feather in his air, light blue eyes, and a pale complexion and dressed in white sleeves with a violet mantle around his shoulders, a white robe covers the back of his legs down to his ankles held up by four straps that act as a codpiece, and finally armored dark purple boots with golden buckles. Tori couldn’t tear his eyes away from him, he was beautiful but he knew that he had danger written in those eyes of his. 

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Tori asked carefully.

The man chuckled. “How rude of me, my name is Kuja. I’m Zidane’s older brother, he was telling me about a keyblade master and I’ve been away on patrol duty, helping the town with their heartless problem. I was hoping to meet this wielder before I have to do another shift.”

“Oh, well…I’m Tori, and I am a keyblade wielder, not a master.” He cleared up. “Zidane never mentioned you before?”

“We have our bad days; he’s been really stressed since our world has been taken over by the darkness.” Kuja knelt down so they were at eye level. “Not to mention, you were only here for one day and I doubt he had the time to tell you everything. Am I correct?”

“You have a point.” He agreed. “It’s nice to meet you then.”

“The pleasure is mine!” He sat beside him. “Now then, you seemed lost in thought, what is on your mind?”

“Just…wondering about what else there is about the keyblade.” Tori looked the blade over. “There’s so much I want to know about this power.”

“Say no more, I know just the person to help you.” He stood up. “I may not look it, but I was once trained under a master myself.” He held his hand out. “I can teach you what my master taught me.”

Tori shook his head and moved away from him. “I appreciate your offer, but I already have a master who is teaching me.”

“You misunderstand, I wasn’t asking you.” His gentle voice turned dark. “You don’t know what sort of power you hold; don’t you get it? You could change everything; think about it, just one slash of that blade and you could alter a person’s being, you can open up a path to replace a person’s soul! You can revive a dying race.” He grabbed hold of Tori’s arms. “All you have to do, is just use that keyblade to release a person’s heart and guide a new heart in.”

A familiar dagger found its way into Kuja’s shoulder, he hissed and dropped the boy before yanking it out and sneering at it. He turned and saw Zidane walking over with a glare of his own. “I should have known you’d make your way off our dying world, here I thought you were playing soldier for the prince.”

“Mind your own business.” Zidane helped Tori up. “Using a kid to do your dirty work for you and Garland huh? It seems you never change.”

“Oh Zidane, you really think so low of me?” Kuja laid a hand on his chest. “You wound me ever so. It is true I may want to revive our dying race, but to go about it the way Garland intended is far to crass for my liking. Now, with that keyblade…why stop at revivals? So much can change, Zidane!”

“You’re not getting your hands on it or the kid!”

He just huffed. “Fine then, be that way.” Kuja turned and walked off. “But keep this in mind, Zidane, you won’t always be there to protect your little champion and when that day comes, I’ll snatch him up before you have time to blink.”

Zidane spat at him. “Just try and take him! You won’t get by me, I’m a professional thief!”

“So, you claim, tata now!”

Zidane just glared after him and led Tori back to the hotel, he was cursing up a storm about what had happened. This would have to be another thing he would have to ask at a later date – preferably when Zidane had a cool head and when everyone wasn’t so on edge. Second visit to Traverse Town and he was already walking on a mine field, how wonderful.

Returning to the apartments, Tori was once again face to face with his current teacher; Edea. Now that he had his somewhat of a quiet stroll in town, he was actually more focus in his studies with her. His aqua based spells had improved immensely and the sparring she had him do outside in the open proved it; ice shards flying like daggers, nearly flooding the streets with a typhoon spell, even going as far as binding someone in place by freezing their own blood, the spectators were a little on the uneasy side after witnessing the boy freeze Tina in place and Edea praising him on such a difficult spell. 

With magic, comes defense; Tori had to wear his binds again for this exercise as he couldn’t always rely on his spells to back himself up, armed with his old sword and a new shield he faced his new opponent; Lightning. The pink-haired girl smiled at him and brought out her sword, wishing him good luck before Ignis began the battle. Lightning charged and slashed down the sword straight down the middle, to which Tori immediately blocked with his shield and shoved her back before slashing down to the side, she barely dodged but parried with her blade. Strike after strike and blocks after block, the two upped their anti a little bit; whenever someone was knocked down – usually Tori, he would either roll from the oncoming attack or just straight up kick Lightning in the abdominal and knocking her back before he sprung back up on his feet. The two were clearly matched in the art of sword fighting, so much so that Ignis decided to add to the challenge by entering the ring himself and charging at both of them, when asked why his answer was simply “You have to learn to balance fighting off multiple enemies.”

Now, Tori could have had the option to call his allies over but he was unable to – mostly because of the new rule that was just added to the lesson ‘No calling for help for this exercise’. It was unfair, his master said that he couldn’t always rely on a fight alone, but Ignis’ new rule completely contradicted it! He voiced his distress, and like before when challenged as to the multiple attacks and trying to avoid getting hit by Lightning and now Ignis and his attempt at impaling him with a spear – damn range weapons – and the explanation that Lightning gave him? “There will be times the enemy will separate you and your allies; you have to hold your own sometimes.”

The battle was long and drawn out and it ended with Tori lying face down on the bed in Jasper’s apartment. Every inch of his body was sore and no amount of health potions were going to help him in the long run. Suzie was beside him and massaging the knots out of his back – he whined in pain from those, as for Jasper, he had come in with a few bags in his arms. He looked over the damage and winced at the sight; Ignis and Edea showed zero mercy on the boy tonight.

“Long day, kiddo?” Jasper asked.

“Ignis tried to skewer me with a spear.” Tori mumbled into the pillow.

“Yep, that’s what being the Right Hand of the Prince will get you.” He set the bags down. “I stopped by your kingdom for a bit, picked up some of your clothes and handing off the filthy ones from Gravity Falls back at the palace.” 

“Thanks.” Tori lifted his head up and looked at him. “Aside from magic and sword fighting, I’ve met someone else…Does the name Kuja mean anything to you?”

“We don’t speak that Angel of Death’s name here.” Suzie snapped quietly.

“Suzie’s right.” Jasper sat beside them. “But you do have the right to know about him so, I’ll give you the brief history.” 

The story that Jasper told lined up perfectly with Zidane’s account, it would be one thing if the story Zidane told was out of a grudge due to being Kuja’s younger brother but it was another thing when a third party confirms it all. Kuja was just…he’d call him insane but that wouldn’t really be the word to use; complex is more like it – even if the blunt of everything is that he is a war-bringer and was in charge of a Queen’s death. There was a reason Kuja was known as the Angel of Death and the accounts were enough to solidify that title. Taking it all in, Tori just nodded and flopped back down to the bed; life in Traverse Town just got even more hectic and he was going to need all the rest he could get before the next journey. 

*****

Returning to his home world wasn’t any better; he only stayed longer this time because his other half was in the closed off district and during his stay home, he was outside in the sand training with Mahad. Two keyblades were clashing against each other and magic was being casted left and right; Mahad was actually proud of Tori’s progress with his lessons with Lady Edea, that raw magic was being manageable and he wasn’t about to commit to arson just because he wanted to light a candle. After training, Tori would be in town getting a new set of clothes ready as well as getting supplies again (the sewing kit needed new thread, first-aid kit needed medicine and saline, etc.) it was one task after another, and while Tori was doing this, Jasper and Suzie were meeting with the rest of the magicians in the Pharaoh’s court (mostly because they wanted the sweet air conditioning, Tori kept telling them to dress for the warmth since he was from the desert and they wouldn’t heed the warning). 

Upon returning to the palace to collect them, Tori made a pit stop to his Master’s study; he was promised information along their travels and now was a better time to do such than any other time. He watched as his Master was training future magicians and stood to the side, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight, just watching the lessons brought him back down memory lane when he was just a student like them. His presence didn’t go unnoticed, Mahad looked over and nodded in a silent invitation – welcoming him in the room.

“I was wondering when you were going to show up.” Mahad smiled. “Do you have everything you need for the next journey?”

“A magician is always prepared.” Tori smiled back as he took his spot at his old desk. “I think you know why I’m here; you promised to explain some things to me?”

“And I am a man of my word.” He nodded as he turned to the students. “Listen well, for one day this lesson may affect you as well; we’re going to start with a familiar story.”

**Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.**

It was a familiar story, Mahad would tell this story to them whenever storms would hit them and it would calm him and the others down. It was his way of saying that storms were never forever and that it tied into his teachings about light within darkness and darkness within light – the yin and yang from the east. The story did have some notable points that Mahad was giving the silent order; ‘ask now while you can’, and that’s what he did; he wanted to know about the scattered worlds and why he had to seal them from knowing about each other, why couldn’t the worlds know about each other? Would it really disrupt the balance that badly?

“Master…Why can’t we have the worlds know of each other?” Tori choked out.

“Do you believe things would be better?” Mahad countered.

“I do.” He nodded. “You and Stanford Pines met, his knowledge of the Keyblade and the Keyholes was how I was able to seal the one in his world.”

“That’s true.” He agreed. “But what if a person shrouded in darkness were to learn of other worlds? What if he learned of the power of our allies beneath the ocean’s surface? What do you suppose would happen?”

Tori let his shoulders drop, “Is there truly no way around it?” 

He shook his head. “Nothing that we know of…yet.” He smiled softly. “I know you want to share your stories with your new friends from Gravity Falls, and I can permit them knowing, but in other worlds you have to abide by the rules given as you travel and close the links off; we can’t let another war happen again.”

One student, Mana, raised her hand. “What was the last war?”

“Afraid that will be a story for another day.” He straightened himself up. “Now then, do you have a lead about where your Heart’s other half is?”

Tori blinked and called out to them once more, “A …jungle it looks like.” He smiled. “Better get the group together and head out.”

“Stay safe, Tori.” 


End file.
